Thanks for all the above advice. I decided to scrap the roller pump idea, and the piston pumps look good but seem to be out of my price range. I picked up a new Hypro D30 with regulator and gear reduction today and bought a Kohler Command 7hp engine. Don't know that I need 7hp, but for the price I decided to give it a try.

I'm probably going to go with a manual reel to save a few bucks ( I know a 12 volt would be better), but there is quite a price difference. Any advice on spray hose (brand) is welcomed. I think I am going to go ahead and use 1/2 hose. I am going to try to source a tank here locally, a farm supply has a fair deal on them and will probably use Rittenhouse or similar for the incidental parts such as the strainer, gun, etc. Thanks again for the help.

I'm with White River. Id go ahead and get the electric hose reel. You'll be glad you did. If you're determined not to and you are just going to get the manual hose reel, I damn sure wouldn't use the 1/2 inch hose, I'd go with the 3/8 inch hose. I use electric hose reels and I use the 3/8 inch for 2 reasons. #1. It's easier to drag around a lawn>much less weight. #2 I can fit 400 ft of 3/8 on a Hannay 1500 series reel> You can only fit 300 ft of 1/2 on it. I'm thankful for that extra 100 ft almost every day and I guarantee you will be too.... for both the extra length and the less weight

Green Garde or Kuri Tec are both excellent quality brands of hose.

__________________
"The Poor Fish" circa 1930's: The Poor Fish wouldn't have been caught if he'd known enough to keep his fool mouth shut.

"Opportunity is missed by most because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work"- Thomas Edison, businessman/inventor

No reason to buy the fancy 1/2" yellow hose either. It is heavy. I have 3 reels with the clear braid and it has been fine for years. Much lighter weight. Going back a few posts, I use 1.25" intake line and 3/4" return line and 1/2" up to reels. I prefer the udor RO70 pump

No reason to buy the fancy 1/2" yellow hose either. It is heavy. I have 3 reels with the clear braid and it has been fine for years. Much lighter weight. Going back a few posts, I use 1.25" intake line and 3/4" return line and 1/2" up to reels. I prefer the udor RO70 pump

I have one of the RO70 Rigs also. They are rigged with the larger intake and return lines because the RO70 is a 20 GPM pump.

All of my other units (other than my Tree/Shrub unit) are Hypro D-30's, which are 9.5 GPM pumps. They can get away with slightly smaller (1" intake and 1/2" agitation) hoses. You'll want to be sure to use "Tigerflex" for your intake. It has a band that runs around it to keep the hose from collapsing under suction.

As far as the "fancy" yellow hose. It's true that it is 650 PSI hose and very doubtful that a spray rig will ever be put to that extreme. However, it does hold up well to things such as cars running over it. I reverse the hose on the reel each year in an effort to get even wear on the hose. I'm not sure how well the clear braided hose will hold up to "abuse" in the long run. However, it would be the cheaper way to go.

__________________
"The Poor Fish" circa 1930's: The Poor Fish wouldn't have been caught if he'd known enough to keep his fool mouth shut.

"Opportunity is missed by most because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work"- Thomas Edison, businessman/inventor

I have one of the RO70 Rigs also. They are rigged with the larger intake and return lines because the RO70 is a 20 GPM pump.

All of my other units (other than my Tree/Shrub unit) are Hypro D-30's, which are 9.5 GPM pumps. They can get away with slightly smaller (1" intake and 1/2" agitation) hoses. You'll want to be sure to use "Tigerflex" for your intake. It has a band that runs around it to keep the hose from collapsing under suction.

As far as the "fancy" yellow hose. It's true that it is 650 PSI hose and very doubtful that a spray rig will ever be put to that extreme. However, it does hold up well to things such as cars running over it. I reverse the hose on the reel each year in an effort to get even wear on the hose. I'm not sure how well the clear braided hose will hold up to "abuse" in the long run. However, it would be the cheaper way to go.

I've used quite a bit of the clear braid on some marine plumbing applications and while it is good hose and it has its place I'm not sure I would want to rely on it for my spray hose. (Not saying it hasn't worked well for you). I think most of that stuff has a working psi of 200-250 which would probably be fine, but I think I'd want something a little stouter. Kinking especially when hot would also be a concern of mine.

Never heard of the "Tigerflex" hose, I'd seen somewhere some Kannaflex or something along that line. Regardless of brand I'll use a good intake hose for the pump.

As far as a hose reel, I may end up going with an electric model. I started thinking about this project as something on the "cheap", but I've been around long enough to know everything is relative and something is usually only as good as what you put into it.

I've used quite a bit of the clear braid on some marine plumbing applications and while it is good hose and it has its place I'm not sure I would want to rely on it for my spray hose. (Not saying it hasn't worked well for you). I think most of that stuff has a working psi of 200-250 which would probably be fine, but I think I'd want something a little stouter. Kinking especially when hot would also be a concern of mine.

Never heard of the "Tigerflex" hose, I'd seen somewhere some Kannaflex or something along that line. Regardless of brand I'll use a good intake hose for the pump.

As far as a hose reel, I may end up going with an electric model. I started thinking about this project as something on the "cheap", but I've been around long enough to know everything is relative and something is usually only as good as what you put into it.

No, I think you might have misunderstood. I don't use the clear braided hose for spray hose (except on my backpack sprayers). I think it could be a cheaper alternative but like you, I think there is the potential for problems. I have Kuri-Tec 650 PSI "yellow" hose on all of my reels.

I think the Tigerflex and Kannflex are probably the same thing.

2 or 3 years from now when you have 300 customers or so, you'll be glad you went with the electric hose reel.

__________________
"The Poor Fish" circa 1930's: The Poor Fish wouldn't have been caught if he'd known enough to keep his fool mouth shut.

"Opportunity is missed by most because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work"- Thomas Edison, businessman/inventor